About Me

Take a look inside my crazy world. I'm passionate about being creative with all types of media. I enjoy using ephemera and vintage images in art and collages. Love mixing it up with pretty paper and anything old and grungy.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Remember the bag of goodies that my friend, Patti sent me awhile back? It was full of game pieces ephemera. This is what I made with some of it. Definitely not my usual subject, not a dog, fairy, or bird in sight. The photo of the couple in the middle was my inspiration... looks to me like they're playing games. The piece was done on an 8x10 canvas, and I painted the checkerboard area with acrylics.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Well, this is my 100th post. Amazing. It took just over a year to get to this point. I wanted to make this post a special one, however, this week has been less than special and I had nothing worthwhile to post. I have been in what one might call a "major funk". Nursing a downright case of the blues, have I. Since I try to keep my blog light and hopefully fun, I hate to post if I'm even feeling the least bit out of sorts. But, lately some of my blog friends have shared their heartfelt feelings in dealing with difficult family health issues. As I read their posts, I felt their heartache and it made me want to reach out to them and offer a small bit of comfort. Becky said it all in one simple statement, sometimes life just sucks. True indeed...but we dig down deep and have faith that tomorrow will be a better day.My sadness has been slowly building. For months, I have watched one of my closest friends battle cancer. She has been amazingly strong through out it all and has recently endured one more surgery. It's been really hard and scary. What I wouldn't give to make it all go away for her.Our old boy, Otis has really bad arthritis. He has trouble getting up on our slippery tile. We've had him on Adequan, but it just didn't do the trick. He fell the other night and barked until we woke up and came to his rescue. So, we're trying a new treatment and praying that it will work. Other than being old, stubborn, and arthritic, he's in pretty darn good shape.Whether human or not, it's heart wrenching to watch those we love suffer.Today, I felt the need to do a little art that included my dogs. It helped to lose myself in the process. I'm planning to use it for the cover of a journal. Love the quote, you may have to click on the picture to read it.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

I've wanted to start making and swapping ATC's for awhile now. Here is my first attempt. The theme is "red, white, and blue", and the swap will take place at Mystic Paper.

It was definitely a learning process. I'm struggling to get the hang of Photoshop Elements, but with my friend Joy's help, I was able to add the text and even make it wave. All the other elements were cut out and glued on.

Friday, July 11, 2008

or what? It feels like Christmas has come in July. Here are some wonderful items that I just received from two friends, one old and one new. I was recently drawn as the winner of Sandy's Her Vintage Stage blog give away. Today we met up at the ever wonderful Mystic Paper, so I could receive my goodies. It was great to finally meet in person. I feel that I already know her through our blog comments and email communications. We have a lot in common, including sons with the same name. We even both have dogs named Ruby. Any dog lover is automatically a friend of mine. Check out her very cool blog. Her art work is terrific and never fails to inspire.

Sandy, it was a treat to meet you. Thanks so much for the awesome stuff. I'm looking forward to getting together again.

We all know how great is is to get mail other than bills. Imagine my surprise and delight when this arrived the other day. My non-arty friend Patti sent me this bag of ephemera and game pieces. You should see what it contains. Monopoly cards, dominoes, scrabble tiles, bingo cards, costume jewelry, buttons, oh my! There was even a small bag of vintage keys. What treasures! Patti, I'm sure you'll tell me where you found all this packaged oh so cleverly.

Monday, July 7, 2008

These little fairy images are from DigitalCollageSheets.com. A few weeks ago, Cindy from Yapping Cat Studioscreated the cutest clips using clothespins. I couldn't wait to borrow her idea, and these are the result. Click on photo for a closer view. I painted the pins black, and glued the moss nests and fairies on. I thought they would be adorable on gift bags. You could even add a magnet to the back. The prices of ready made bags and tags drive me crazy. They can sometimes cost more than the actual gift. I'd much rather give something that I've made anyway.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

I'm still on the 30day challenge for a couple more days. Still trying to make use of my excess of supplies. I've had these big clothespins for awhile, and today I decided to gussy them up a bit. I love these vintage children, especially the little girl on the chair. All in all, I did pretty well in not buying very much. Not exactly zilch, but very little. It's been a real eye opener. I've realized that too often I buy things on impulse and not for real love or need. That bad habit has left me with many things of which I now have no desire to use. It's also made me define my style a bit more. I've learned that I need to focus on what inspires me to create and not get caught up in the acquiring of things.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

I heard the Beatles sing "Baby, you can drive my car" today on my way home from work. I was reminded of this scrapbook page I did of myself in my 1958 Corvette kiddie car. I was a 2 year old toddler in the picture. Sorry, the actual photo isn't very clear. Boy, would I give anything to still have that car. I'm sure it would be worth something today.It seems that we all are searching for vintage photos to use in our art these days. Is it nostalgia? Do we want to be reminded of simpler times? Whatever it is that inspires us to look back in time, I hope it continues.

The Scarlett House

If you are a stitcher, like old samplers, antiques, or decorating your house, visit me over here.

How I chose my blog name...

I received this card shortly before I was to take my first vacation with Ruby. A dear friend sent it to me with "Road trip with Ruby" written inside. The saying has stuck with me ever since. My life's journey wouldn't be the same without my beloved dogs coming along for the ride.